This is the time of year many businesses decide which charity they want to support for the coming year.

This week Business Argus has been asking the local business community which charities they support and why.

Dave Matthews, operations director, Centric Recruitment

For us as a recruitment provider operating across South Wales, it's important that we are part of the community in these areas and support the causes and people who make them what they are. I think this should be important for any company. Being a part of the community means you are giving something back to the people that help it thrive. With this in mind we have been actively supporting Casey's Cause in 2015. We normally pick up a charity partner every year and try to work with causes that change and improve lives. To help Casey's Cause we've held a number of charity golf days this year at the Celtic Manor Resort and have another one coming up on September 11. We've raised around £10,000 so far. We also try and support community initiatives and clubs and most recently helped fundraise for Ynysddu Mini and Junior Rugby Club and a campaign they staged to get more people into rugby and off the street.

Liz Maher, VAT director, Centurion VAT Specialists, Langstone

We have supported The Wallich, the Welsh Homeless Charity, for the last two years and it has given us a real focus to our fundraising activities in the course of the year. As a small business it can be difficult to commit time and money to our charity support, there’s only so many charity dinners you can go to – so we like to work with our selected charity to help raise their profile as well as money at an event each year. Last year we held a celebration party at The Senedd in Cardiff following an award-winning year we’d had and invited The Wallich along to talk to our clients and contacts about what they do. This year we ran a Centurion quiz night at our clients Cardiff Met in aid of The Wallich and raised more than £1,110 as well as introduce them to potential contacts. Charities need to work smarter with Welsh businesses, especially the SME sector, and build long term relationships recognising what they can do as well as what the business can help them with – sometimes that might not be just money.

Andrew Evans, managing director of First Sentry Security, Abercarn

We actively support Help for Heroes and the Royal British Legion. As an ex-serviceman, both charities mean a lot to me as I know just how much support some individuals need after leaving the armed forces. As the majority of my staff are also ex-servicemen and women they are also really enthusiastic to get involved in the different charity events that we come up with to raise money. Doing so is an important part of our efforts and something we are pleased to say that our clients are very kind to support too.

Andrew Lewis, chief executive officer, Monmouthshire Building Society, Newport

For the first time in our history, we’ve named Wales Air Ambulance as our Charity of the Year to help raise as much money as possible for the iconic Welsh charity. We’re proud to offer the charity a year-long boost to their funding, which has been coupled with the launch of a savings account which benefits them, and our aim is to further strengthen their provision of an essential lifesaving service. As a regional building society, owned by and for our members, community support is one of our key values, and we also have a charitable foundation which welcomes applications from all walks of life. Having Wales Air Ambulance as our Charity of the Year in addition to our foundation gives us the opportunity to engage staff members and to add a touch of creativity to our daily operations.

Kate Richards, training and compliance manager, Budget Vets, Newport

We try to work with any animal-related charity that we can in South Wales as we all too often see animals that are exposed to unnecessary neglect. Therefore the charities are a help to us as well as us supporting them. Our biggest charity is Hope Rescue and aside from the financial benefit of the discount we give charities we also provide assistance at their summer shows, with micro chipping, judging and other freebies. We also have food bins in the branches to collect donations for them as well as promoting their posts via social media. We are currently organising a dog walk for Hope Rescue to raise money for them. Other charities we currently support include: Dogs Trust, Hope Rescue, Rhondda Animal Aid, Cats Protection, German Sheppard Rescue, Greyhound Rescue and New Start Cat Rescue.

John Newell, owner, Kingston Newell Estate Agents, Newport

Although we don’t officially support a nominated charity, we have recently made donations to Noahs Ark and Prostate Cancer Cymru due to their relevance of circumstances relating to our staff. We would be willing to support charities in the future and those working in our local communities are of interest due to Kingston Newell being a Newport company working with the residents of the city. Personally I am a member of the Rotary Club in Newport and thoroughly enjoy participating in the great work they do supporting charities in the city. Businesses should support charity because so many more lives can be positively affected by the great work undertaken by charities and we can help make a difference.

Scott Pearson, managing director, Newport Transport

Newport Transport is proud to support local and Welsh based charities that deliver so much good in the community. The company feel that this is fundamentally important to our local identity. Currently the charities we support do many good things people that need help or assistance at often very difficult times in their lives. We feel it is important we help as best we can and do so through fundraising and also promoting these causes through free advertisement opportunities aboard our buses and at our travel centre.

Katie Darlow, Roberts & Co estate agents

We choose to support a chosen charity each year. This year we are supporting Ty Hafan, which offers comfort, care and support to life-limited children, young people and their families in the hospice, in the community and in their home so they can make the most of the time they have left together. They allow parents and carers to relax and recharge their batteries. Various members of staff will be taking part in a high zip wire challenge in September to raise money for this fantastic cause. Throughout the year we also support other charities and will donate items to be auctioned or for their raffle. This year we were also pleased to support a local family raising money for Turner’s Syndrome where we donated a Welsh Football Shirt to be auctioned off at their fundraiser. Supporting local events and charities is really important to the company, employees and our community.

Robin Hall, managing director, Kymin, Newport

We support St David’s Hospice Care and have done since 2008. Over the years we have taken part in many of their challenges including the annual Monmouth Raft Race, the Welsh Three Peaks Challenge, the Dragon Boat Race and many more. We also help out in other ways whether that be sponsoring an event or actually helping out on the day like with at this year’s Admiral City of Newport Half Marathon. Seven members of the Kymin team were marshals on the day and I’m sure that with an event of this size volunteers are equally as important to St David’s Hospice Care as those people participating. It is important for business to help charities from both an internal and external point of view, it is also good for employee engagement and instils a feeling of team work.

Keith Palmer, group CEO of the South Wales Chamber of Commerce and Centre for Business

We are passionate about supporting charitable organisations across Wales and our staff decided to support the Wales Air Ambulance as our chosen charity for 2015. The Wales Air Ambulance is a remarkable organisation that provides an invaluable service under the most difficult circumstances to people who have suffered a life-threatening injury or illness. As part of our fundraising activity, 10 members of staff from the South Wales Chamber and Centre for Business will be taking part in the Cardiff Half Marathon and will be raising money through donations, sponsorship and at Chamber events. All of the staff at the Chamber and Centre for Business are working hard to raise money for the charity. We are delighted to be supporting this worthy cause and hope that the money we raise helps the Wales Air Ambulance team to continue providing its service to the people of Wales.

Ed Gooderham, director at Green & Co Accountants and Tax Advisors, Cwmbran

Supporting a charity doesn’t just put your business name out there, but brings extra publicity to the charity in question, as well as humanising your enterprise. We have incorporated fund-raising into many of our team-building days, adding a new dimension to staff participation. Everyone is invited to nominate a charity close to their own hearts. We have recently had a bake-off for Children in Need, a Walk-about in support of Headway, a charity that became close to Nick Park when they helped his nephew recover from an acquired brain injury. We also recently undertook a mammoth car wash in aid of St David’s Hospice Care, this charity was nominated by one of our staff after they helped with his father’s hospice care. Many of our clients have supported us with generous donations. As part of our policy of giving back, our staff also donate regularly to a local food bank and we are happy to support them when they undertake individual challenges for good causes.